Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This job is open to current permanent VA Nationwide employees, Federal employees of other Agencies, VHA HPTs, and U.S. Citizens.

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The Social Worker-Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Care Coordinator is an interprofessional that relies on the collective expertise of multiple disciplines to provide and/or coordinate care for Veterans who have severe and/or complex mental health needs. The duties Social Worker-BHIP Care Coordinator may include, but are not limited to:

• Implements the Collaborative Chronic Care Model (CCM) to facilitate coordinated, proactive, population-based care.
• Follows referral management procedures that focus on timely and person-centered care coordination, as well as continuity for Veterans.
• Utilizes procedures to promote re-engagement, referral, or transition to other levels of care, as deemed appropriate based on their stability and recovery.
• Collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality.
• Completes clinical and psychosocial assessments and screenings identifying the Veterans' needs, strengths, abilities and preferences.
• Uses advanced clinical training, insight, and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options.
• Assesses high risk factors, including suicidal and homicidal ideation, as well as acute needs for VHA or community-based services.
• Provides crisis intervention, in collaboration with the multidisciplinary treatment team, for Veterans who are experiencing severe social or mental health crises.
• Develops and updates treatment plan(s) using required documentation and within established timeframes and based on clinical need and person-centered treatment goals.
• Demonstrates a detailed knowledge of VHA programs and community services, to meet the needs of Veterans.
• Completes all documentation in the electronic medical record within established timeframes.
• Provides motivational enhancement activities to prepare Veterans to participate in clinically appropriate care.
• Provides evidence-based treatment/rehabilitation services for Veterans with a wide range of mental and behavioral health conditions.
• Leads in-person and tele-mental health psychotherapeutic groups.
• Provides outreach services for the MH-OPAC program in the community.
• Provides training for other members of a multidisciplinary treatment team and facility in areas related to mental health access and levels of care.
• Provides liaison services with other programs referring MH-OPAC Veterans to ensure engagement in MH services, access, continuity of care, and successful transition of Veterans from one program or level of care to another.
• Responsible for the collection of data and for reviewing the data to improve performance and delivery of services to MH-OPAC Veterans.
• Provides recovery-oriented treatment with the goal of establishing the Veteran independently in the community at the Veteran's highest level of functioning and quality of life.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Ad hoc Available at supervisor discretion.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 586-00402F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Education: Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: The experience and Knowledge, Skill, Abilities (KSAs) required below must be evident in your resume.

Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12

1. Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.
2. Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
3. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs in their resume:
(a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
(b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.
(c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
(d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
(e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience providing mental health care coordination or case management within an interdisciplinary team.
• Experience in conducting risk assessments and developing safety plans for clients experiencing suicidal ideation, acute distress, or clinical instability.
• Experience in providing best-practice treatment approaches for complex and serious mental health conditions, including PTSD, SMI, SUD, and co-occurring disorders.
• Experience in working comfortably and confidently in a fast-paced environment, including triaging walk-ins, responding to urgent clinical needs, and prioritizing care effectively.
• Experience in navigating data sets and dashboards to support effective caseload and panel management.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center.
2. All other VA employees.
3. Current Permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. VHA HPTs.
5. All other applicants.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.